The present invention relates to container carriers, and more particularly to a foldable container carrier for a predetermined number of beverage cans, bottles or cups.
Carriers are well known and have been used in various forms for enabling a user to transport a predetermined number of containers in a relatively easy fashion. Some of these carriers are used by bottlers for arranging bottles or cans in a compact carrier for the handling convenience of a consumer. Other carriers are used in restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, for arranging cups having lids for transportation to a remote area for consumption. These carriers must also minimize spilling of the beverage within the cup containers.
The majority of carriers described above are made of paper or cardboard and employ various foldable designs. These designs are desirable since the carriers are easy to transport and store in a flat condition prior to its use and are unfolded at the time of purchase to accommodate the beverage cups. Some of these carriers also incorporate handles for easy of carrying.
Another type of carrier employed mainly by restaurants is one which is formed of paper or cardboard into a desired shape. The paper or cardboard in these carriers is relatively thick and stiff for ease of transport. This type of carrier has been found to be quite unstable and difficult to carry, especially when only one container is present in the carrier.
Existing carriers suffer from a number of drawbacks. One of the main drawbacks is the complexity of the carrier itself. This is especially true with the various foldable carriers which are rather intricate and rely on a number of folding members to form sidewalls within the carrier. Other wall members are sometimes necessary to support these sidewalls as well as the containers, and many also employ foldable handles which cooperate with these walls in a confusing network.
Another problem with existing carriers is their lack of attractiveness and inability to provide billboard or advertising space on the carrier itself. This is an important criteria due to the enormous amount of competition in the respective industries and the need for a manufacturer to provide easy product identification to the consumer. Moreover, it provides a medium for advertising without any additional distribution not only for the product contained within the carrier but for other products, games or the like.
The handles used by previous carriers have also been a problem area. As descried earlier, not only are these handles complex, but they do not always hold the carrier properly especially when wet. Additionally, such handles have been found to be too hard to carry for the consumer.
Storage and packing of existing carriers has not always been an attractive feature. Some of the foldable carriers are oddly shaped when flat while the formed papers carriers are too bulky.
Finally, probably one of the most important factors with existing carriers is the cost. Generally, these carriers have been expensive due to their complexity and are normally provided free of charge to the consumer. This cost must obviously be tacked on to the cost of the beverage. It would therefore be advantageous from a competitive standpoint to reduce the cost of such a carrier as much as possible.
The present carrier overcomes the aforementioned problems by providing a simple two-piece carrier for accommodating at least four containers having two rows of two containers each. The main part of the carrier is a foldable blank having coining lines which define four foldable sidewall panels. The second part of the carrier is a generally cruciform shaped handle member which slidingly cooperates with the four sidewall panels to provide pockets for each container. The carrier also includes a locking feature which maintains the carrier in a flat folded condition prior to use.
Such a carrier is easily manufactured by employing two cut out blanks which readily assemble to provide a neat and simple interaction. The present carrier also provides ample billboard space, a sturdy carry means in any environment and is readily foldable into a simple arrangement for storage. All of the above features are provided in a carrier whose material cost is significantly lower than previous carriers.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a unique foldable container carrier for use with a number of predetermined containers.
It is a feature of the present invention to have a container carrier whose handle actively cooperates to form the carrier itself as well as a lock for maintaining the carrier is a flat folded position.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the carrier can provide proper transportation of a plurality of beverage containers at a reduced cost with a simple reliable design.